UT is ranked 47th among all public universities, according to U.S. News and World Report’s 2014 rankings released today.
U.S. News ranked UT 101st among all national universities, the same as 2013, and 47th among all public universities, down one spot from 2013. UT tied with seven other universities this year, five of which are public institutions.
Today’s rankings place UT’s undergraduate business program 27th among public universities and 47th nationally. The business program’s undergraduate supply chain management and logistics specialty is ranked sixth in the nation. The undergraduate engineering program ranked 37th among public universities and 65th nationally.
Areas where UT improved in the ranking criteria over last year include a higher six-year graduation rate, more classes with fewer than 20 students, faculty resources, alumni giving, and a better assessment from high school counselors across the nation.
U.S. News has put greater emphasis on graduation rates, which is a key part of measuring the university’s success.
“We know that to make significant progress in our journey to the Top 25, we must improve our graduation rates,” said Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek. “We have made great progress in this area, and we continue to focus on this important goal. Improving graduation rates is not just good for the rankings; it’s important for the state of Tennessee.”
Today’s U.S. News rankings focus only on undergraduate metrics. The university’s Top 25 goals measure a broader set of data—including research and graduate education outcomes—against a specific set of peer institutions. Nearly half of our Top 25 peers also fell in the 2014 U.S. News undergraduate rankings.
In 2010, former Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen challenged UT to become a Top 25 public research university by 2020, Cheek said.
“It was a challenge we gladly accepted,” Cheek said. “That year we ranked 52nd among all public universities and 106th among all national universities. Since that time, the six-year graduation rate has improved from 60 to 66 percent and progress has been made in nine of the eleven broader measures,” he said.
For more information on the Journey to the Top 25, visit he Vol Vision website.
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CONTACT:
Karen Simsen (865-974-5186, karen.simsen@tennessee.edu)